How to Renew Your Passport With a Name Change: Forms, Fees, and Timing

To renew a U.S. passport with a name change, you mail or hand in a paper application with a certified copy of the document that changed your name, a current passport photo, and (usually) a fee. Which form you use depends on how recently your name changed and how old your current passport is. If the name change happened within a year of your passport being issued, standard processing is free.

Pick the Right Form

Three pathways cover almost every situation. Choosing the wrong one is the most common reason applications come back unprocessed.¹

Form DS-5504: Name Changed Within a Year of Your Passport

If your name changed less than a year after your most recent passport was issued, and that passport is itself less than a year old, use Form DS-5504. Mail it in with your documentation and standard processing is free. Expedited service costs $60.¹

Form DS-82: Mail-In Renewal

Once more than a year has passed since your passport was issued or your name legally changed, DS-5504 is off the table. You can use Form DS-82 by mail if your current passport was issued when you were 16 or older, was issued within the last 15 years, and is undamaged and in your possession. Include a certified copy of your legal name change document.¹

Form DS-11: In-Person Application

You apply in person with Form DS-11 if your passport was issued before you turned 16, it’s been more than 15 years since it was issued, or the passport was lost, stolen, or damaged.²

DS-11 also covers the situation where you’ve been using a different name for years but have no marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order to prove it. In that case, file DS-11 along with Form DS-60, an affidavit completed by two people who have known you by both names. You’ll also need at least three certified or original public records showing you’ve used the new name for an extended period.¹

Online Renewal Doesn’t Apply

The State Department’s online renewal system is limited to applicants keeping the same name and personal information. A name change disqualifies you from the online path; you have to go by mail or in person.³

What to Include in the Envelope or the Folder

Every name change application, regardless of form, needs the same core pieces.

An original or certified copy of the document proving your new legal name, typically a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order. It must carry an official seal or stamp from the issuing authority.¹
Your most recent passport book, if you’re filing DS-5504 or DS-82 by mail. You’ll be without it while the application is processed.
One color passport photo, 2 by 2 inches, taken within the last six months.⁴
Your completed form. All forms ask for your Social Security number. If you’re filing DS-11, don’t sign it in advance; you’ll sign in front of the acceptance agent.⁵

If your name change document was issued by a foreign government, it may need a certified English translation. Missing translations are a common source of delay.

What It Costs

DS-5504: free for standard processing, $60 for expedited.¹
DS-82: $130 for a passport book, $30 for a passport card, plus $60 for expedited service.⁶
DS-11: $130 application fee for a passport book, plus a $35 execution fee paid to the acceptance facility, plus $60 if you want expedited service.⁶
Optional 1-to-3-day return delivery: $22.05, paid with your application fee.⁷

For mail-in applications, pay by check or money order made out to “U.S. Department of State.” DS-11 applicants pay the $35 execution fee separately at the acceptance facility, sometimes by credit card depending on location.⁸

How to Submit

Mail-in applicants (DS-5504 and DS-82) should use a trackable delivery service and a large, flat envelope so nothing gets folded. You’re mailing your current passport and original name change document in that envelope; losing either creates a much bigger problem than the shipping cost. Addresses for the processing centers are printed on the form and vary by whether you chose routine or expedited service.

DS-11 filers apply in person at a passport acceptance facility, which may be a post office, library, or county clerk’s office. Many require appointments. An authorized agent administers an oath, watches you sign the form, and collects your fees.⁹

Processing Time and How Your Documents Come Back

As of early 2026, routine processing runs four to six weeks and expedited runs two to three weeks. Neither figure includes mailing time, which can add up to two weeks in each direction.⁷

Your new passport arrives by trackable delivery. Your citizenship evidence and your name change document come separately by First Class Mail, up to four weeks later. A passport book and card arrive in separate mailings too.¹⁰ If you’ll need your marriage certificate or court order for anything else while you wait, get an extra certified copy before you send the application in.

Traveling Before the New Passport Arrives

You can still travel internationally on a valid passport in your former name. U.S. Customs and Border Protection allows citizens to enter the country using a passport in a prior name as long as they carry proof of the name change, such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order.¹¹

Airlines are the tighter constraint. Book tickets in whichever name matches the passport you’ll actually be carrying, then update your reservations after the new passport arrives. CBP directs questions about TSA screening to the TSA directly.

If You Need It Fast

If you have international travel within 14 calendar days, or need a foreign visa within 28 days, you can make an appointment at a regional passport agency. These agencies serve customers by appointment only, and you’ll need proof of your upcoming travel. Schedule through the State Department’s Online Passport Appointment System or call 1-877-487-2778.¹²

Update Social Security First

Change your name with the Social Security Administration before you submit the passport application. The SSA handles name changes at local offices with your name change document and a completed Form SS-5. If you filed in person, wait at least 48 hours for the record to update; if you filed by mail, wait until your new card arrives, roughly 10 to 14 business days. The State Department doesn’t explicitly require you to update Social Security first, but your application asks for your Social Security number, and mismatches between federal databases can slow processing.

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